Bite Catering recently had the privilege to cater a fall fundraiser for Ride On at Ventura Farms. Ride On is an organization based out of Newberry Park and Chatsworth that teaches adaptive horseback riding to children and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities. Ride On serves over 180 riders each week and offers two programs. The first is therapeutic riding which emphasizes recreation, riding skills and fun on horseback. The second program is Physical, Speech or Occupational therapy which focuses on specific medical improvements. For their fall fundraiser, Mr. David Murdock generously hosted the event at Ventura Farms. See their review of the event here!

Amazing…Spectacular…Entertaining…Classy…Impressive….just a few of the words our guests used to describe our 20th Anniversary Celebration last weekend which raised over $186,000! This fantastic event which was attended by over 400 guests was graciously hosted by Mr. David H. Murdock at Ventura Farms and we cannot thank him enough for his generosity and support. The evening kicked off with the exciting entrance of 5 skydivers that landed with precision only feet from our guests! We were then treated to a presentation of Ventura Farms finest horses and our wonderful riders, horses and staff impressed the crowd with Adaptive and Therapy Services demos. A lovely dinner followed on the beautiful lawn amongst Mr. Murdock’s incredible boulders with musical entertainment provided by British band Next of Kin. Following an exciting auction guests were treated to an absolutely brilliant light show!

It's not every day we feed 400 people outdoors on a large private estate... there was a lot of planning and logistics required to make it happen. We started the night off with passed hors d’oeurves along with the choice of wine or a signature cocktail. The signature cocktail was a Basil Lemon Drop called “The Ride on Cocktail.” While the guests mingled and munched on appetizers, they were also able to start bidding on auction items. The auction was held in a room filled with beautiful orchids of all different colors. Fun fact, Ventura Farms is home to an 18,000 square foot Conservatory that houses over 25,000 Orchids.

After the passed hors d’oeurves, guests went over to the performance area where they watched 5 skydivers impressively soar in to the event. They then continued to watch a performance with the finest horses, riders, tricks and demonstrations. When the show was over, guests walked over to the dinner tables and buffet stations to fill their plates with delicious food. We tried to keep the menu in line with a ranch, including many grilled options. Overall, this was an event for the books! With a beautiful venue and great company, we can’t wait to make next year’s event even better!

For more details about the menu, see below: